Abdullah II | king of Jordan | Britannica.com king of Jordan Alternative Titles: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ḥusayn, Abdullah ibn Hussein Abdullah II Noor al-Ḥussein Abdullah II, in full ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ḥusayn (born January 30, 1962, Amman , Jordan), king of Jordan from 1999 and a member of the Hāshimite dynasty , considered by pious Muslims to be direct descendants of the Prophet Muhammad (see Ahl al-Bayt ). ʿAbdullah II, 2005. Sean Gallup/Getty Images Abdullah , the eldest son of King Ḥussein , served as the crown prince until age three, when unrest in the Middle East prompted Ḥussein to name Abdullah’s adult uncle, Prince Ḥassan, heir to the throne. Abdullah was educated in Great Britain and the United States , and in 1980 he graduated from the Royal Military Academy in Sandhurst, England . He later served in the British armed forces as well as in Jordan’s armed forces.

In 1993 he was appointed deputy commander of the country’s elite Special Forces . He became commander of the Special Forces in 1994 and held that post until assuming the throne. Abdullah married a Palestinian, Rania al-Yasin , in 1993. In January 1999 King Ḥussein, whose health was deteriorating, named Abdullah the new heir to the Hāshimite crown. Hours after the death of his father on February 7, 1999, Abdullah became king of Jordan; he was officially crowned on June 9. In his new role, Abdullah continued to follow many of his father’s policies. Following the September 11 attacks in 2001, Abdullah supported the United States’ efforts to combat terrorism, and, after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, U.S. forces were permitted to maintain bases in Jordan. Support for an Arab-Israeli peace agreement also was a high priority for Abdullah, and he continued to demonstrate his commitment to the peace process by participating in negotiations, meeting with Israeli and Palestinian leaders, and calling international attention to the issue.

Abdullah oversaw the upgrading and modernization of Jordan’s armed forces to confront a variety of external security threats, the most serious of which emanated from the civil wars in Iraq and Syria. Apart from a series of deadly bombings in Amman in 2005 that were orchestrated by al-Qaeda in Iraq , Jordan was largely successful in avoiding the violence that plagued its neighbours. The country’s close military cooperation with the U.S., however, was generally unpopular with average Jordanians. Within Jordan, Abdullah promoted economic and social modernization, introducing free-market reforms and a variety of initiatives to improve the status of women. Political liberalization took a lower priority; although Abdullah made some gestures toward enabling greater political participation, these were tentative and often reversed. Above all, Abdullah sought to restrain the Islamic Action Front, the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan and the country’s largest opposition group. Britannica Stories King Abdullah II Biography (Royalty) Birthplace: Amman, Jordan Best known as: King of Jordan, 1999-present King Abdullah II has ruled Jordan since the 1999 death of his father, King Hussein I .

As king, Abdullah has continued his father's policy of making Jordan a moderate voice in the Middle East, with ties to Arabs, Palestinians, and the West. Abdullah went to prep schools in England and America, then attended the Sandhurst Military Academy in England and began a career in the Jordanian army. He had become commander of all Jordanian special forces when his father, shortly before his death, named Abdullah to replace the presumptive heir, Hussein's brother Prince Hassan. Abdullah became king on 7 February 1999. He married Rania Al Yassin , now Queen Rania, in 1993. They have four children: Hussein (b. 1994), Iman (b. 1996), Salma (b. 2000), and Hashem (b. 2005). Extra credit: King Abdullah II is the oldest son of King Hussein and his wife, Princess Muna Al Hussein… King Abdullah’s clan, the Hashemites, traces its family tree back to the prophet Muhammad .

According to his official site, Abdullah’s generation is the 43rd since Muhammad… Also according to the king’s official site, “He is a qualified frogman, pilot and a free-fall parachutist”… Odd but true: King Abdullah is a fan of Star Trek and had a small non-speaking role on “Investigations,” a 1995 episode of the TV series Star Trek: Voyager. Copyright © 1998-2017 by Who2?, LLC. All rights reserved. Advertisement Advertisement King Abdullah II Official Website | Profile Profile Profile The 41st-generation direct descendant of the Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him), His Majesty King Abdullah II assumed his constitutional powers as monarch on 7 February 1999. Following the leadership legacy of his father, the late King Hussein, King Abdullah has made the welfare of Jordan’s people the cornerstone of his policies for national development, regional peace and global coexistence. The King’s special concern for the future of Jordan’s young people has put youth engagement, education and opportunity at the top of his agenda. At home, he has paired economic reforms with political liberalisation and an innovative program of national development.

He has overseen sweeping educational reforms, which today are energising Jordan's private sector and preparing Jordan's youth for global competitiveness and leadership. To provide real solutions to Jordan’s pressing economic needs, King Abdullah ushered in a new era of structural reform and modernisation, integration with the world economy and globalisation. The King has worked to bring together the public and private sectors – both domestic and global – through large-scale joint initiatives aimed at meeting the urgent challenges of job creation, opportunity for Jordan's young population and poverty alleviation. King Abdullah personally championed Jordan's accession to the World Trade Organisation, presided over Jordan’s becoming the first Arab country to sign a free trade agreement with the United States and has forged new bilateral and multilateral economic alliances with countries from Asia to Latin America. In diplomatic affairs, King Abdullah has been the voice of Jordan’s progressive policies to expand global justice and cooperation. Taking up the historical role of the Hashemite Family, he has championed the rights, achievements and values of Muslims worldwide. In 2004, he worked with leading Islamic scholars to release the Amman Message, reaching a global audience with Islam's guiding principles of peace, tolerance and dialogue among faiths.

In the footsteps of the late King Hussein, King Abdullah renewed a firm commitment to peace in the region on the basis of the two-state solution and the establishment of a viable, independent and geographically contiguous Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, living in peace alongside Israel, in accordance with UN resolutions and the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative. King Abdullah is the eldest son of His Majesty King Hussein Bin Talal (1935-1999) and Her Royal Highness Princess Muna Al Hussein. Born in Amman on 30 January 1962, he is the namesake of King Abdullah I, his great-grandfather, the founder of modern Jordan. King Abdullah began his education at the Islamic Educational College in Amman. He later attended St. Edmund's School in Surrey, England, and concluded his high school education at Deerfield Academy in the United States. Later, he pursued advanced studies at Pembroke College, Oxford, and Georgetown University. The young prince was a man of action on the athletic field and the training ground. In 1980, he enrolled in the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst (UK) and was commissioned as second lieutenant in 1981.

He served in the British Army in the 13/18th Royal Hussars Regiment, with duties as a reconnaissance troop leader in the United Kingdom and Germany. In 1985, then-Prince Abdullah returned to Jordan to serve in the armed forces (Armoured Corps, 3rd Division). Rising through the ranks to lieutenant-colonel, he attended advanced military courses in both Jordan and the UK. Among other duties, he served on attachment to the Special Forces and qualified as a Cobra attack helicopter pilot. After service as commander of the 2nd Armoured Battalion, 40th Armoured Brigade, he was named deputy commander, Jordanian Special Forces, in January 1993. In November 1993, Prince Abdullah became commander of Jordan's Special Forces. In 1996, he was given the task of reorganising the Special Forces and other elite units into the new Special Operations Command (SOCOM). In 1998, as SOCOM commander, he was promoted to the rank of major general. In his off-duty hours, the Prince became well known for his interest in land, sea and air sports, including free-fall parachuting.

He shared his father's passion for cars and motorcycles and became a Jordan National Rally champion. Today, he continues to enjoy aquatic sports, including boating and scuba diving. During his time in the military, King Abdullah also developed an interest in ancient weapons and today, he maintains a world-class collection of military artefacts. King Abdullah’s service in the army was always a source of personal pride and his respect for those who serve their nation has been a conspicuous quality of his leadership. Today, the King describes Jordan's armed forces as the “foremost symbol of honour, bravery, sacrifice and belonging." During his years as an army officer, then-Prince Abdullah was regularly dispatched on official diplomatic and military missions. He also frequently served his country in the capacity of regent in King Hussein's absence. In 1993, then-Prince Abdullah met Rania Al-Yassin. Six months later, the couple were engaged and they married on 10 June 1993. As a princess, Queen Rania began the powerful social work and advocacy which she continues to this day. The Royal Couple's first child, Prince Hussein, the Crown Prince, was born on 28 June 1994.

Since then, they have had three more children: Princess Iman (27 September 1996); Princess Salma (26 September 2000); and Prince Hashem (30 January 2005). Jordan's Abdullah II: the king who vowed to crush IS Jordan's Abdullah II: the king who vowed to crush IS Mussa Hattar Share View photos King Abdullah II of Jordan listens after a meeting at the White House December 5, 2014 in Washington, DC (AFP Photo/Brendan Smialowski) More Amman (AFP) - King Abdullah II of Jordan, a member of the US-led coalition battling the Islamic State group, faces the toughest challenge of his 16-year reign after IS murdered a downed pilot. One of Washington's closest allies in the region, Abdullah was catapulted into the forefront of the conflict with the jihadists after IS burned the captured Jordanian airman alive. The British- and US-educated Abdullah became king in 1999 following the death of his father Hussein, a seasoned statesman who had weathered many challenges of his own.

On Wednesday, the day after IS released a video purporting to show F-16 pilot Maaz Kassasbeh being burned alive, Jordan executed two Iraqi jihadists, including would-be suicide bomber Sajida al-Rishawi. She had been on death row for her role in 2005 triple hotel bombings in Jordan that killed 60 people, and the jihadists had demanded her release. On Thursday, dozens of Jordanian warplanes raided IS targets, with the military vowing that the campaign to avenge Kassasbeh had just begun. Analysts say Abdullah, who celebrated his 53rd birthday on January 30, was decisive in his response. "King Abdullah is very realistic when faced with crises," said Mohammad Abu Rummaneh, a researcher at Jordan University Center for Strategic Studies. Robert Danin, a senior fellow at the US-based Middle East Studies Council on Foreign Relations, agreed. "King Abdullah has been clear-minded in seeing IS as a threat both to the kingdom and to the regional order in the Middle East," he said. - 'Quick and decisive' - "King Abdullah was quick and decisive to act.

First in ordering the execution of the two convicted terrorists, and then in intensifying the military campaign against IS," Danin said. "This is important because it signals that the threat posed by IS is real and unacceptable." Abdullah, a military man who was thrust into the limelight of politics following his father's death, cut short a visit to Washington and vowed a harsh revenge for the execution of Kassasbeh. The king attended Britain's prestigious Sandhurst Military Academy like his father, earned his wings as a Cobra attack helicopter pilot and also commanded Jordan's Special Forces before becoming monarch. He is married to Queen Rania, 44-year-old Kuwait-born Palestinian, an asset in a country where almost half the population of seven million is of Palestinian origin. They have four children -- Crown Prince Hussein, Princesses Iman and Salma and Prince Hashem. Jordan's constitution gives Abdullah extensive powers. He appoints governments, approves legislation and can dissolve parliament. He has solid ties with tribes that form the backbone of the Hashemite kingdom. Abdullah has described Jordan as a country wedged between "a rock and a hard place" -- a reference to its location between war-wracked Iraq and the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

- 'Delicate balancing act' - The war that has raged for nearly four years in neighbouring Syria has added to the challenges facing Jordan and the brutal rise of IS has put the country further on edge. In September, Jordan joined the US-led coalition of Arab and Western countries, launching air strikes on jihadist targets in Syria where IS has set up a "caliphate" that also straddles areas it holds in Iraq. Nadim Shehadi, director of the US-based Fares Centre for Eastern Mediterranean Studies, said "Daesh", the Arabic acronym for IS, poses a clear threat to both Jordan and coalition partner Saudi Arabia. "One should not underestimate the danger that Daesh presents for both Jordan and Saudi Arabia as opposed to the danger it poses to Iran and (Syrian President Bashar al-) Assad," he said. "For Iran and Assad, fighting Daesh gives them legitimacy and serves their interests; for Jordan and Saudi Arabia, fighting Daesh is a very delicate balancing act and one with potentially grave results. "Daesh challenges them on their own ground, so Daesh is a much greater threat to them," he said.

Danin said the battle against IS was "thrust" on Jordan and other regional states, describing it as "a war of self-defence". He also underlined the strength of US-Jordanian relations, noting that in just two months Abdullah had met President Barack Obama twice at the White House. "It is clear that the United States is looking to Jordan as a model of stability and moderation in an extremely turbulent region," Danin said. Reblog King Hussein Selects Eldest Son, Abdullah, as Successor - The New York Times The New York Times World |King Hussein Selects Eldest Son, Abdullah, as Successor Search Continue reading the main story Correction Appended King Hussein of Jordan decreed on Monday that his eldest son, Prince Abdullah, would be next in line for the throne, Jordanian officials said. The King, 63, has already told his brother, Prince Hassan, that his position as designated heir, as signified by the title Crown Prince, is ending after 34 years. Prince Abdullah, who will soon turn 37, is a major general in the army and leads Jordan's special forces.

He is said to share his father's common touch and is popular within the military, where support for the monarchy is deeply rooted. In a public letter to his brother published early today, the King suggested that Prince Hassan's actions had led to his removal. He accused his brother of trying to exert influence over the army, and criticized what he said had been the Prince's opposition to his plans for longterm succession. A separate copy of the royal decree, also published today, designated Prince Abdullah as the new Crown Prince with ''all rights and priveleges.'' Advertisement Continue reading the main story Until less than a week ago, when the King returned from six months of cancer treatment abroad, few in Jordan had doubted that his brother would be next to assume the crown. The change in successors could have more than a ceremonial effect on this tiny country, which has been ruled by King Hussein for 47 years. Jordan's stability is of concern to its neighbors, from Israel to Iraq. Among its biggest challenges are the deepening unpopularity of the peace with Israel, signed by the King in 1994 against the wishes of most Jordanians, and widening concerns about the economy, which has been in a crisis for most of the last decade.

Little is known about Prince Ab dullah, who has not been tested outside the armed forces. Like his father, he attended the British military academy at Sandhurst, England. A biographer, James Lunt, wrote in his 1989 book ''Hussein of Jordan,'' published by Macmillan London, that Prince Abdullah was ''remarkably like his father in character.'' On infrequent occasions, Prince Abdullah has served as regent in Jordan, with the power to oversee the country during the absence of senior members of the royal family. But some of his associates have said he has never shown much ambition outside the army. The King, who broke the change to his brother only last Friday, signed the decree on Sunday night, Jordanian officials said today. In the past, the King had praised Hassan for his loyalty, so the tone of the letter explaining the reasons for his dismissal was surprising. The King criticized what he said had been Prince Hassan's meddling in the army during his own long absence. He also suggested that Prince Hassan had refused to accept that, even if he became King, one of King Hussein's sons should follow him to the throne.

There was a hint of palace intrigue in the letter, in which the King said he had been prepared to abdicate in favor of his brother after a first bout with cancer in 1992, but had been hurt by criticism directed at his wife and children by Hassan's supporters. There was no indication that the change in succession would prompt any challenge. But many Jordanians are grumbling that the King has treated his brother badly. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Some people close to the King had spread word that the move reflected dissatisfaction with Prince Hassan's performance during the King's absence. Among the allegations was that Prince Hassan's Pakistani-born wife, Princess Sarvath, had already started refurbishing the King's office in anticipation of her husband's ascent. Others, however, including some close to Prince Hassan, 51, have pointed instead to the King's concern for posterity. They say they believe that the King's two bouts with cancer have made him conscious of his mortality and kindled a desire to insure that the Hashemite line of succession -- which dates to 1201 -- passes to one of his own sons.

The King is expected to appoint Prince Hassan to a new post as his deputy, with responsibilities that could include economic and Middle Eastern affairs, Jordanian officials said. But Prince Hassan, a loyal stand-in, was said to have taken news of his demotion badly. Some of his associates have said the Prince might not accept the post. King Hussein, who has ruled Jordan since 1952, has proved durable in part because of his self-confidence and charisma, which have endeared him to his people even as he has made decisions they opposed. That has also endeared him to the West, particularly as it has emboldened him to defy public opinion by reaching out to Israel. Prince Hassan is a scholarly, Oxford-educated technocrat well versed in economic and foreign affairs and more comfortable in a blazer than in Arab dress. He has always been seen as more remote, which raised doubts about whether he could muster the reservoir of support necessary to make courageous decisions. Many who believed that there would be a new heir focused on Prince Hamzeh, 18, the King's eldest son by his current wife, the American-born Queen Noor.

Prince Hamzeh, who is attending Sandhurst, was at his father's side through most of his recent struggle with non-Hodgkins lymphoma, and he is almost universally believed in Jordan to be the King's favorite. According to Jordanian officials who would speak only on condition of anonymity, the King gave Prince Hamzeh serious consideration. They said the King concluded that it would be unwise to hand such responsibility to a teen-ager. Still, some of them said they did not discount the possibility that the King might one day make Prince Hamzeh his heir. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Prince Abdullah bin Hussein was born in Amman on Jan. 30, 1962, to the King and his second wife, Toni Avril Gardiner, an Englishwoman, who was known as Princess Musa. For a brief period after his birth, the infant was designated Crown Prince, in keeping with the tradition of succession incorporated into Jordan's Constitution after the Emirate of Transjordan was recognized as a state in 1923, under King Abdullah, grandfather of the current King. It was not long, however, before King Hussein decided that it would be more prudent to appoint an older heir.

After a series of assassination attempts against him, and growing concern about the stability of the kingdom, the King decided in 1965 that the Crown Prince would be Hassan, then 18, even though that required amending the Constitution. The fact that Prince Abdullah's mother was a foreigner, and converted to Islam only upon marriage, has sometimes been seen as a potential obstacle to his becoming King. A more sentimental choice among many Jordanians has been Prince Ali, the King's eldest son by his third wife, Queen Alia, a Palestinian, whom he married shortly after divorcing Princess Musa in 1971. Still, Prince Abdullah -- who attended high school at the Deerfield Academy in Illinois, took one-year courses at Oxford and Georgetown Universities, and served for a short time in the British Army -- has in recent years soothed apprehensions that his outlook might be directed abroad. His wife, Princess Rania, whom he married in 1993, is a Palestinian. They have a son, Prince Hussein, and a daughter, Princess Iman.

Correction: January 27, 1999, Wednesday An article yesterday about King Hussein's selection of his eldest son, Prince Abdullah, as his successor misstated the adopted name of the King's second wife, Toni Avril Gardiner. She was known as Princess Muna, not Musa. Because of an editing error, the article misstated the site of Deerfield Academy, where Prince Abdullah attended secondary school. It is in Massachusetts, not Illinois. King Abdullah II, 1999 People in the News Biography > Noteworthy People > People in the News > 1999 People in the News King Abdullah II, 37, became the fourth ruler of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in February, succeeding his father, King Hussein, who died after losing an 8-month battle with cancer. Abdullah, the former commander of the Jordanian Special Forces, was surprised—as was the world—when King Hussein, only days before his death, declared Abdullah crown prince. King Hussein's younger brother, Prince Hassan, had been crown prince since 1965.

King Abdullah II Biography (Royalty) Best known as: King of Jordan, 1999-present King Abdullah II has ruled Jordan since the 1999 death of his father, King Hussein I . As king, Abdullah has continued his father's policy of making Jordan a moderate voice in the Middle East, with ties to Arabs, Palestinians, and the West. Abdullah went to prep schools in England and America, then attended the Sandhurst Military Academy in England and began a career in the Jordanian army. He had become commander of all Jordanian special forces when his father, shortly before his death, named Abdullah to replace the presumptive heir, Hussein's brother Prince Hassan. Abdullah became king on 7 February 1999. He married Rania Al Yassin , now Queen Rania, in 1993. They have four children: Hussein (b. 1994), Iman (b. 1996), Salma (b. 2000), and Hashem (b. 2005). Extra credit: King Abdullah II is the oldest son of King Hussein and his wife, Princess Muna Al Hussein...

King Abdullah's clan, the Hashemites, traces its family tree back to the prophet Muhammad . According to his official site, Abdullah's generation is the 43rd since Muhammad... Also according to the king's official site, "He is a qualified frogman, pilot and a free-fall parachutist"... Odd but true: King Abdullah is a fan of Star Trek and had a small non-speaking role on "Investigations," a 1995 episode of the TV series Star Trek: Voyager. Copyright © 1998-2017 by Who2?, LLC. All rights reserved. CNN - Jordan's peacemaker king walked a narrow line in the Mideast - February 7, 1999 Jordan's peacemaker king walked a narrow line in the Mideast Interactive CNN's Garrick Utley reports King Abdullah will be among the monarchs who hold political power Real For more video on King Hussein, click here In this story: February 7, 1999 Web posted at: 5:16 a.m. EST (1016 GMT) AMMAN, Jordan (CNN) -- His Majesty Hussein bin Talal, king of Jordan, is dead.

The Middle Eastern leader lost a long battle to cancer on Sunday at the age of 63. Hussein died in his homeland after returning from the Mayo Clinic on Friday. ALSO: World leaders praise Hussein as hero of peace He had spent six months in the United States undergoing treatment for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma at the clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, returning triumphantly to Jordan on January 19. Within days, the king named his eldest son Abdullah his successor, replacing Hussein's brother Hassan as crown prince. And then Hussein, with a recurrent fever, abruptly returned to the U.S. clinic January 25 for further treatment. He underwent a bone marrow transplant earlier this week, but the transplant failed, and the king returned home to die. Hussein guided his country through the volatile Cold War and four decades of Arab-Israeli conflict, successfully balancing the pressures of Arab nationalism and the allure of Western-style development against the stark reality of Jordan's geographic location. He left Jordan economically stronger and politically stable as it institutes democratic reforms that he himself launched. Beginning his rule as a 17-year-old schoolboy, he evolved by the end of his life into a respected statesman and the Middle East's longest-serving ruler.

Overcoming the humiliating loss of the West Bank and east Jerusalem in the 1967 Six-Day War, he would emerge as a pivotal peacemaker, signing a peace accord with Israel and, later, helping to salvage deadlocked talks between Israel and the Palestinians. For more than 40 years, Hussein was the ruler and the symbol of a kingdom not much older than he was -- a modern monarch with the ancient name Hashemi. Rulers of the holy city of Mecca for over 700 years (ending in 1925), Hussein's family claims a line of descent from the Islamic prophet Muhammad and Ismail, son of the biblical prophet Abraham. "We are the family of the prophet and we are the oldest tribe in the Arab world," the king once said of his Hashemite ancestry. The king himself -- at the time of his death the longest-serving executive head of state in the world -- held the reins of Jordan since May 1953, just a month before Elizabeth II was crowned queen of England. 'I would never be a schoolboy again' The story of Hussein's rise to head the kingdom carved out of the British colonial empire is one of intrigue, death and luck.

Hussein's grandfather, King Abdullah, ruled Jordan from its inception in 1920 until his assassination -- at the Al Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem -- in 1951. King Hussein's grandfather, Abdullah, was killed as the young prince looked on; he then pursued the gunman A Palestinian extremist, fearing the king might negotiate a peace with the newly created state of Israel, opened fire on Abdullah and his grandson on July 20 of that year as the pair walked into the mosque for Friday prayers. Abdullah was killed, but the 15-year-old Hussein pursued the gunman. The assailant turned his weapon on the young prince, who was saved when the bullet was deflected by a medal on his uniform given to him by his grandfather. At the time, Crown Prince Talal, Hussein's father, was undergoing treatment for schizophrenia in a Swiss mental hospital. He was returned to Jordan and crowned king, a position he held until the Jordanian parliament forced his abdication a year later. With his father's abdication, Hussein was named king of Jordan at the age of 17, although a Regency Council ruled for him while he completed his education in Britain.

On May 2, 1953, he assumed full constitutional powers when he turned 18 by the Islamic calendar. "At seventeen, I knew the end of a dream," Hussein later wrote in his memoirs. "I would never be a schoolboy again." Rocky beginnings The young king was thrust immediately into the vagaries and difficulties of Middle Eastern politics. "The King and country were alike," wrote John Newhouse in a New Yorker magazine profile in 1983, "young, inexperienced, poor, and unpromising." Hussein inherited an economy with few natural resources and a complex political landscape Hussein had inherited an economy with few natural resources and a populace that had just absorbed a large number of displaced Palestinians following the 1948 creation of the state of Israel. The early years of Hussein's rule were an almost literal trial by fire. In 1956, with Arab nationalism on the rise, he sacked his British-born military commander Sir John Bagot Glubb, replacing him and the other senior British officers with Jordanians to quiet criticism that he was overly influenced by the former colonial ruler.

A year later, the young monarch foiled an attempted coup -- fueled by Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser's pan-Arabic politics -- by personally appealing to the troops. But in 1958, the Iraqi military overthrew and killed Hussein's cousin King Feisal. That coup ended a budding federation between Jordan and Iraq, a potential political counterweight to Egypt and Syria. And then pro-Nasser sympathizers in Jordan organized another coup attempt, stopped only by the arrival of British and American troops. A fateful decision in the Six-Day War With British and American help, the king held onto his throne, and put growth into Jordan's economy, doubling the annual output from 1956 to 1963. But Palestinian guerrillas based in Jordan -- while staging strikes against Israel that prompted retaliatory strikes by the Jewish state -- were also actively working against Hussein. Under pressure from Jordan's rapidly growing Palestinian population, Hussein made what many historians believe was his biggest mistake: He joined forces with Egypt in the Six-Day War against Israel in 1967, despite the grave warnings of his military advisors. Hussein: 'At 17, I knew the end of a dream.

I would never be a schoolboy again' Israel soundly defeated its Arab opponents in that war -- and Jordan lost the West Bank and east Jerusalem -- Islam's third-holiest city -- to its Jewish neighbor. Joining the war may have saved Hussein from the wrath of his Palestinian subjects, but its cost was tremendous. The West Bank was Jordan's top agricultural region, and the war cost the king his entire air force and 15,000 troops. "The loss of the West Bank was a shock to everyone," said former Jordanian Prime Minister Bahjat Al-Talhuni. Five months after the war, Hussein helped draft U.N. Resolution 242, which called on Israel to return those occupied territories in return for an Arab guarantee of its right to exist within secure borders. The idea of "peace for territory" in the Israeli conflict was born. "The king was among the first leaders to realize what it meant to lose part of the territory," said another former prime minister, Taher Al-Masri.

"He was able to reduce the negative implications." Born: Amman, Jordan; November 14, 1935 Educated: Victoria College, Egypt; Harrow College & Royal Military Academy, England Marriages and children: Dina Abdul Hamed 1955 (divorced 1956), one daughter Muna al Hussein (born Toni Gardiner) 1961 (divorced 1972), two daughters and two sons Alia Baha Eddin Toukan 1972 (widowed 1977), one daugher and one son Queen Noor (born Lisa Halaby) 1978, two sons and two daughters Author: "Uneasy Lies the Head" (1962) "My War with Israel" (1968) After the war, the Jordan-based Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) continued to attack Israel, threatening to depose the king if he interfered. Finally, Hussein had had enough. In September 1970 -- the month Palestinian radicals would come to call Black September -- the 34-year-old monarch ordered his army to drive the PLO out of the country.

Syrian troops came to the aid of the Palestinians, while Israeli soldiers massed across the border. When the fighting finally ended, the Palestinian radicals had lost. And although Hussein remained popular at home, the Arab world largely isolated him throughout most of the 1970s. In 1974, Arab leaders declared the PLO "the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people," taking away Hussein's role as spokesman for the West Bank's Palestinians. And in 1978, he was excluded from the Camp David summit between U.S. President Jimmy Carter, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin. A year later, he denounced the accords in a speech to the United Nations General Assembly. That position helped re-establish the friendship -- and money -- he and his country needed from other Arab leaders. But the king and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat were never able to reconcile, and Hussein finally renounced Jordan's claim to administrative and legal control of the West Bank in 1988. Jordan did represent Palestinian interests when Middle East peace talks began in Madrid.

A separate delegation eventually joined the negotiations, but the monarch whose kingdom still included more than 1 million Palestinians remained very much on their side. Often a target of coup and assassination attempts, Hussein wrote 'that sometimes I have felt like the central character in a detective novel' Hussein always walked a tightrope between his Middle Eastern neighbors and Western powers. "He's between Israel on one side, Iraq and Syria on the other," former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger said. "He knows that the Palestinians have tried to overthrow him on a number of occasions, so he has to navigate with extraordinary delicacy." His balancing act never stopped the succession of coup and assassination attempts. The plots have been so common, Hussein wrote in his memoirs, "that sometimes I have felt like the central character in a detective novel." That act seriously strained relationships with the West, particularly the United States, when Iraq invaded Kuwait in August 1990. Jordan depended on Iraq economically and politically, and the Iraqi invasion enjoyed strong support among Jordanians. While Jordan officially stayed neutral in the 1991 Gulf War -- in part because of Western pressure -- unofficially, king and country once again supported the losing side.

While the decision to stay neutral cost Jordan a heavy economic price as Western agencies withdrew millions of dollars in aid, it also helped Hussein solidify his popularity with the people. Then, in July 1994, under pressure from the United States, Hussein signed an agreement with his old adversary, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, ending hostilities between the two countries. And a year and a half later, he traveled to Jerusalem to bury his new friend, shot down by an Israeli opponent of peace. "As long as I live, I'll be proud to have known him," Hussein said. King Hussein Stuns Jordan With Plan to Switch Heirs - The New York Times The New York Times World |King Hussein Stuns Jordan With Plan to Switch Heirs Search Continue reading the main story King Hussein of Jordan is preparing to select one of his sons as his heir, Jordanian officials said today, culminating a dizzying week in which the King returned from six months of cancer treatment abroad and then dismissed his brother as Crown Prince.

The sudden ouster of Crown Prince Hassan, who is 51 and had been the King's designated heir for 34 years, has stunned even Jordanians long used to surprises from the 63-year-old King, who has made change in course a hallmark of his 47-year rule. The King has not yet offered any clue as to why his brother fell into disfavor, and he has not yet signaled which of his five sons he might now elevate to the head of the line for the Hashemite throne. Since the King returned on Tuesday to announce that he had ''thoughts and ideas'' about changing the line of succession, Jordan had been buzzing with speculation and disbelief. But on Friday, Jordanian officials said, the King made the news official in a meeting in which he told his brother to prepare for a royal decree that would designate a new heir. The Crown Prince, who is described in an official biography as the King's closest confidant, had run the country as Regent during all six months of his brother's absence, as he had done countless times before.

Advertisement Continue reading the main story The King was reported by Jordanian officials to have told the Crown Prince that he wanted to designate him as his deputy, albeit with limited power, but people close to Crown Prince Hassan said he had taken the news badly and might well choose to live abroad. According to knowledgeable Jordanians who spoke on condition of anonymity, the leading candidates to succeed King Hussein are now Prince Abdullah, 37, the King's eldest son and an army major general in charge of a royal security force, and Prince Hamzeh, 18, the King's eldest son by his current wife, the American-born Queen Noor. Prince Hamzeh, who is now attending a course at the British military academy in Sandhurst, England, has long been seen as the King's favorite. He was at his father's side through much of the grueling cancer treatment, at the Mayo Clinic in the United States, and unconfirmed talk around the Royal Court has long suggested that Queen Noor wanted Hamzeh to become King. King Hussein, whose treatment included six rounds of chemotherapy and the transplant of bone marrow, has pronounced himself ''fully recovered from the cancer,'' a variety known as non-Hodgkins lymphoma.

But his latest illness was his second brush with cancer in the last seven years, and it has robbed him of his hair, weight and some physical vigor. For the latter reason, diplomats in the Jordanian capital, Amman, have suggested that the King might now find it difficult to resume a full work schedule. Please verify you're not a robot by clicking the box. Invalid email address. Please re-enter. You must select a newsletter to subscribe to. Sign Up Privacy Policy They say they know of no reason to doubt that the King has been cured, but they also have described his sudden attention to succession as reflecting a fresh sense of mortality. Neither Prince Abdullah nor Prince Hamzeh has been given much of a public profile in Jordan, but both are said by people who know them to have the same charm and charisma that have helped the King to guide Jordan through turbulent times. By contrast, Crown Prince Hassan has found it difficult to shake an image of being relatively aloof. Still, he has also has won many admirers through his long years as his brother's understudy. That has been particularly the case within the business community, which regarded him as well-equipped to help Jordan through economic strains.

And even Jordanians who have never been great admirers of the Crown Prince are shocked and confused by the move to sideline him from the succession. Advertisement Continue reading the main story ''I don't think this is any way to treat a brother,'' said a former Jordanian official who like most people critical of the King would speak only on condition of anonymity. The King, who is one of the world's longest-serving leaders, has a long record of surprising friends and foes, through decades of artful swerves that included his sudden embrace in 1994 of a peace treaty with Israel. But never before has he courted so much potential discord within his family. When he designated Hassan as Crown Prince in 1965, the King's sons were infants, and a series of assassination attempts against King Hussein had raised concern about how Jordan would fare if he were killed. The move required an amendment to Jordan's Constitution, which had stipulated that the eldest son of the reigning monarch inherit the throne. The selection of a son as the new heir would restore that line.

King Hussein was designated in 1952 and formally took power the next year, succeeding his grandfather, King Abdullah, assassinated in Jerusalem in 1951, and his father, King Talal. Jordan's King Abdullah a formidable foe against ISIS, experts say | Fox News Jordan's King Abdullah a formidable foe against ISIS, experts say By Cristina Corbin Facebook 0 Twitter 0 livefyre Email Print Jordan's King Abdullah is a former general and special forces commander who experts say has the resolve to follow through on his vow to crush ISIS. Following the release of a ghastly video showing a captured Jordanian air force pilot being burned to death, the 53-year-old monarch warned that retribution will be swift. And with an army of more than 100,000 well-trained soldiers, tens of thousands more in reserves and a capable air force, Abdullah's kingdom is more than up to the task, Middle East experts told FoxNews.com.

"The king is very serious about being a military guy." - Jon Alterman, Center for Strategic & International Studies "Their ability to do difficult things with small numbers of highly trained people is up there with some of the best militaries in the world," Jon Alterman, director of the Center for Strategic & International Studies' Middle East Program, said of Jordan's military. "The king is very serious about being a military guy," Alterman said. "For much of his life, he thought he was going to be a special forces commander and for some time he was." "He didn’t do that from the back of chauffeured cars. He did that from Black Hawk helicopters and command posts at the site of terrorist raids," he noted. "The military is what gets him excited." According to GlobalFirepower.com , Jordan has the 67th most powerful military in the world, which is far from superpower status, but capable of taking on Islamic State's stretched and in many cases undisciplined force, according to defense experts. Jordan's military has 110,700 active duty personnel, 65,000 reserve members, 1,321 tanks and 4,600 armored fighting vehicles.

Its air fleet has 246 aircraft, including 74 fighter planes and 24 attack helicopters. The nation of 6 million has a defense budget of $1.5 billion. The country can also count on support from other nations, including the U.S., many oil-rich gulf states, and possibly Japan, which had two of its citizens beheaded by ISIS days before the video surfaced. King Abdullah II ascended to the throne in February 1999 following the death of his father, King Hussein. Abdullah was schooled mainly in the West and has extensive military experience. He attended the Islamic Educational College in Amman before his education at St. Edmund's School in Hindhead, England, and later in the U.S. at Eaglebrook and Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts. In 1980, he joined the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and was commissioned into the British Army as a Second Lieutenant. Two years later, he completed a one-year course in Middle Eastern affairs at Pembroke College in Oxford and attended Georgetown University's Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service in 1987.

Abdullah became command of Jordan's special forces in 1993 and served as Major General in 1998. "In many ways, I think he'd really rather be jumping out of airplanes than meeting in Davos with the rich and powerful," said David Schenker, former adviser to Defense Secretary Donald Rumseld and director of the Arab politics program at The Washington Institute. "The military milieu is one in which the King is most comfortable," Schenker told FoxNews.com. "Regionally speaking, they are people of high quality," he said of Jordan's military force. Release of the video showing the Jordanian pilot's execution followed days of intense protests by Jordanians outside Abdullah’s palace over the government's refusal to agree on an ISIS prisoner swap without proof the pilot was alive. Many Jordanians as well as the pilot’s family faulted Amman – not ISIS – for allowing their country to be drawn into a "war" they claim is one between the Islamic State and the U.S. and its allies.

Demonstrators outside the gates of the royal palace have cried out, "Abdullah, why are we fighting?" while other Jordanian protesters have taken to social media, creating an Arabic hashtag on Twitter that reads #NotOurWar. Schenker said he believes such protests will cease -- at least temporarily -- now that the Jordanians have seen the brutality by which ISIS executed one of their own. "There are obvious risks with upping the ante," he said. "There's a very real prospect that more Jordanians will come into harm’s way and more additional troops will be taken captive or killed." "It remains to be seen whether this desire for revenge will be sustained," Schenker said.

Question: King Abdullah became king of what country in 1999?
Answer: Jordan